Nongqayi Scared of Being Arrested, Not Arce Rematch

By Mesuli Zifo

SOUTH African fighter Simpiwe Nongqayi left on Monday night on his way to Mexico where he will engage in a rematch against Jorge Arce in Mexicali Baja in Mexico on Saturday.

While Nongqayi left his country with a heavy task of beating Arce for the second time, he was much more worried about the trip to Mexico as he will have to catch the connecting flight in Amsterdam to Mexico.

Catching connecting flights has now become Nongqayi’s biggest fear after he was arrested in Germany while waiting to catch a flight to Mexico for his first fight against Arce in September 2009.

Without proper documentation to land in Germany, Nongqayi and his team were arrested and had to spend 24 hours in a Germany prison cell before South African embassy officials came to their rescue.

“I am hoping and praying that what happened to me in Germany does not happen again,”  Nongqayi said before boarding a flight at the OR Tambo Airport in Johannesburg, SA on Monday night.

However his manager Siphatho Handi assured that every little detail about the trip has been taken care of and that Nongqayi’s journey will be smooth.

“We were mindful of what happened to him on the way to Mexico in 2009 and we made sure that this time around there will be no hassles,” Handi said.

Despite the long hours he spent in detention Nongqayi was still able to beat Arce in his own backyard and claim the vacant IBF junior bantamweight crown in September 2009.

Although on Saturday he will be fighting in the bigger junior featherweight division for the first time in his career he is not fazed by the task at hand as he believes that he has Arce’s number.

Arce’s WBO junior featherweight crown he won in emphatic fashion with a 12th round thrilling stoppage of the previously unbeaten Wilfredo Vasquez Jnr in May will not be at stake.

Nongqayi is not overly perturbed by the absence of Arce’s world title, feeling that a victory over the Mexican legend will be equally benefitting to him.

“Arce has a big number and after beating him the first time my stock went  up a notch and I am confident that beating him again will give my career a massive boost.”

Nongqayi who is now 38 years old is in badly need of big win to re-launch his fledging career beset by allegations of ill discipline emanating from reports of his heavy drinking.

But with just one loss and a draw in 18 bouts, he is still young by boxing standard having not accumulated any wear and tear a 35-year-old veteran like Arce has in his 65 bouts with just seven losses and two draws.